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The gang is all coming back together — at least as much as it could.
While Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske have but no choice to move on from Michigan, given that both are four-year players who exhausted their eligibility, a handful of Wolverines chose to test the NBA waters this offseason.
It didn’t take long for sophomore Franz Wagner to say he’ll be back for his second year in Ann Arbor, but Isaiah Livers — an upcoming senior — planned on seeing what he could do in the NBA scouting combine. He explicitly stated he would only leave for the professional ranks if he was offered guaranteed money, but with everything in flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Livers apparently decided he doesn’t want to wait things out and see how it goes as far as deciphering his professional status.
In a release by the Michigan basketball team, Livers has opted to return to Michigan to finish out his career in Ann Arbor.
Release:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan men’s basketball guard/forward Isaiah Livers announced Friday (July 17) that he will return for his senior season and remove his name from the 2020 NBA Draft.
“What a crazy couple of months. However, I have learned a great deal from this process, and I’m extremely excited to return to Ann Arbor,” said Livers. “My family and I are so appreciative of Coach Howard and all the staff for letting us really explore my dream of playing in the NBA. While it was a limited process due to COVID-19, I want to thank all the NBA teams who took the time to talk to me. The information I gathered is going to be invaluable moving forward. But now, we have unfinished business in Ann Arbor. I cannot wait to do everything I can and help lead this team to great things.”
“It was a great afternoon when Isaiah stopped into my office and told us he would be returning,” said David and Meredith Kaplan head men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard. “The opportunity for Isaiah, and his family, to take a deep dive and learn as much as they could about professional basketball is a blessing. Now, he has even more information to know what he needs to do to reach that next level and fulfill his dreams. For us, we not only get a skilled and experienced veteran back, we get a true leader and one of the best young men I have met.”
In his three seasons in Ann Arbor, Livers has played in 96 career games (46 starts) and compiled an 82-27 record. He helped the Wolverines to their second straight Big Ten Tournament title in 2018 while being part of two straight Michigan NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances (2018, ’19). In 2018, U-M advanced to its second Final Four and national title game in six years.
Prior to the sudden cancellation of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Livers was leading the Wolverines with 12.9 points per game after posting 14 double-figure scoring games — three of which featured him scoring 20 points or more, incuding a career-high 24 against Houston Baptist. In addition to his scoring, he averaged career bests in rebounds (4.0.), assists (1.1), and he missed just two free throws the entire season, shooting 95.7 percent (44-for-46) from the charity stripe. The 2017 Michigan Mr. Basketball, Livers has continued his work towards a general studies degree.
Livers was one of two Wolverines to explore the possibilities of entering the 2020 NBA Draft early. Wolverine guard Franz Wagner announced in late April he would return for this sophomore season.
That’s not to say that Michigan didn’t have losses this offseason. It lost some vital components in assumed point guard of the future David DeJulius — who transferred to Cincinnati — and forward Colin Castleton — who departed for Florida.
However, Michigan welcomes in two transfers in guards Mike Smith and Chaundee Brown, as well as a heralded recruiting class — featuring Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams, Hunter Dickinson and Jace Howard — a group which topped the Big Ten in 2020.